Lesson 5.4.1

5.4.1 Converging and diverging lenses and ray diagrams Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Physics, Unit 5

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 5.4.1, Converging and diverging lenses and ray diagrams: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Physics (9PH0), Unit 5: Waves and Particle Nature of Light, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the shape of a converging (convex) lens?

    • Thinner in the middle than at the edges
    • Thicker in the middle than at the edges
    • Triangular in cross-section
    • Flat on both faces with a constant thickness

  2. What kind of image does a diverging lens always form for a real object?

    • A real, inverted and diminished image
    • A virtual, upright and diminished image
    • No image at all
    • A real, upright and magnified image

  3. What is the focal length of a thin lens?

    • The radius of curvature of the lens surface
    • The distance from the object to its image
    • The distance from the lens centre to the object
    • The distance from the lens to its principal focus for rays parallel to the principal axis

  4. What happens to a ray passing through the optical centre of a thin lens?

    • It is bent at 90 degrees to the principal axis
    • It is reflected straight back along its path
    • It is not deviated
    • It is refracted through the principal focus

  5. What happens to a ray parallel to the principal axis after passing through a converging lens?

    • It stays parallel to the principal axis
    • It moves away from the focus as if from a point
    • It passes through the optical centre
    • It passes through the principal focus

  6. What is a real image?

    • An image formed only by diverging lenses
    • An image that appears behind the lens and cannot be projected
    • An image that is always magnified
    • An image that can be projected onto a screen because the light rays actually converge at it

  7. What is a virtual image?

    • An image where the rays converge onto a screen
    • An image where the rays pass through a real focus
    • An image that is always inverted
    • An image formed where the rays appear to come from, but do not actually pass through

  8. A converging lens of focal length 10 cm forms an image of an object placed 30 cm from it. What type of image is formed?

    • Real, upright and magnified
    • Virtual, inverted and diminished
    • Virtual, upright and magnified
    • Real, inverted and diminished

  9. A converging lens of focal length 10 cm has an object placed 6.0 cm from it. What type of image is formed?

    • Real, upright and diminished
    • Real, inverted and magnified
    • Virtual, upright and magnified
    • Virtual, inverted and diminished

  10. A converging lens of focal length 10 cm has an object placed 15 cm from it. How far from the lens is the image?

    • 5.0 cm
    • 6.0 cm
    • 15 cm
    • 30 cm

  11. A diverging lens has focal length -20 cm, and a real object is placed 30 cm in front of it. Using the real-is-positive convention, what is the image distance?

    • +12 cm, a real image on the far side
    • -60 cm, a virtual image 60 cm from the lens
    • -12 cm, a virtual image 12 cm from the lens on the object side
    • +60 cm, a real image on the far side

  12. A converging lens forms an image with image distance 40 cm from an object at 20 cm. What is the magnification?

    • 20
    • 2.0
    • 60
    • 0.50

  13. For a converging lens, which object distance produces a real, magnified image?

    • Less than f from the lens
    • Greater than 2f from the lens
    • Between f and 2f from the lens
    • Exactly 2f from the lens

  14. An object sits at 2f from a converging lens. What is the image like?

    • Real, upright and diminished
    • Virtual, upright and the same size
    • Virtual, upright and magnified
    • Real, inverted and the same size as the object

  15. An object is placed exactly at the principal focus of a converging lens. Where is the image?

    • A real image forms at the optical centre
    • The refracted rays emerge parallel, so the image is formed at infinity
    • A real inverted image forms at 2f
    • A virtual upright image forms behind the object

  16. A student says that a converging lens always forms a real image. Which evaluation is correct?

    • Incorrect, because with the object between the lens and its focus the image is virtual and upright
    • Correct, because virtual images are formed only by mirrors
    • Correct, because all lenses form real images
    • Incorrect, because converging lenses never form images

  17. An object is 25 cm from a converging lens of focal length 10 cm. What is the magnification of the image?

    • 1.5
    • 0.67, a diminished real image
    • 2.5
    • 0.40

  18. A diverging lens of focal length -15 cm forms a virtual image 10 cm from the lens on the same side as the object. How far is the object from the lens?

    • 10 cm
    • 6.0 cm
    • 30 cm
    • 25 cm

  19. Why does a diverging lens always form an upright, diminished virtual image for a real object?

    • Its rays diverge after refraction, and their extensions backwards meet on the object side, nearer the lens than the object
    • Its rays converge after refraction, so the image is real and inverted
    • Its rays are reflected before they meet the image point
    • It stores light energy and releases it as an enlarged image

  20. A student traces a ray through the optical centre and a ray parallel to the principal axis for a converging lens, and finds where they cross. Is this method valid?

    • No, because parallel rays always pass through the optical centre
    • No, because a ray through F is never refracted
    • Yes, because the central ray is undeviated and the parallel ray passes through the focus, so their intersection locates the image
    • No, because the ray through the centre is refracted to the far focus

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